Athens--Greece and the EU said Thursday loan talks would continue to reach a deal on disputed reforms as Athens began to feel the heat of a wave of June debt repayments.
European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said his officials were preparing "the next round of negotiations" after a four-hour meeting late on Wednesday with Greece's Alexis Tsipras.
"I was sleeping three hours after having had long challenging discussions and negotiations with the Greek prime minister," Juncker told a committee hearing at the European Parliament.
"This is the reason why I have to leave (the hearing)... We have to prepare the next round of negotiations," he said.
With over 300 million euros ($336 million) due to be repaid to the IMF on Friday, the radical left Greek government was under mounting pressure to reach a default-saving agreement with its creditors.
The Athens stock exchange on Thursday opened with a three-percent drop and was down 2.06 percent in midday trade.
"The talks will continue in the coming days," said Tsipras, whose hard-left Syriza party was elected in January on promises to end five years of painful austerity measures that plunged Greece into recession.
The 40-year-old leader added that after months of often bad-tempered talks between Athens and its creditors, "there was proof from the Commission that it is at least disposed towards reaching a realistic agreement very quickly."
Greek media said the government was hoping for a deal by June 14, although maverick Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis -- who does not always echo the cabinet line -- told a radio interview the talks would conclude on June 30.
Athens has the money to pay the International Monetary Fund on Friday, a source with knowledge of the matter told AFP, but added that the government would ultimately decide whether to make the payment.
Agreement on a reform plan with Greece's creditors would unlock the final 7.2-billion-euro ($8.0-billion) tranche of EU-IMF bailout.
Tsipras's government presented a 46-page blueprint on how to overhaul the struggling Greek economy without resorting to harsh austerity measures and cuts.
But the creditors put forward a rival plan hammered out without Greece at a meeting in Berlin on Monday attended by the leaders of Germany and France.
The Greek premier early on Thursday said that there were "points that no one would consider as a base for discussion" in the talks and that Greece's reform plan "remains the only realistic plan on the table".
His party secretary Tassos Koronakis on Thursday said the creditors' proposals ignored the grave state of the economy after five years of austerity cuts.
"A proposal with 11 percent tax on medicine and 23 percent on energy cannot be accepted," Koronakis told Skai TV.
AFP
